


Commitment

by hamitome__imagines



Series: Random Reed900 Drabbles [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Detroit: Evolution
Genre: Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900, and communicating, this is based on Detroit: Evolution as usual, tina is the best friend everyone needs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24221797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamitome__imagines/pseuds/hamitome__imagines
Summary: Nines wonders about the next step in his relationship with Gavin. So naturally, he asks Gavin about it. But Gavin is bad at feelings and communicating, as usual.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Random Reed900 Drabbles [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1713403
Comments: 4
Kudos: 88





	Commitment

Nines studied Chris as he talked on the phone to his wife. His voice changed octave and Nines knew he was now talking to his young son. Chris had a small family, one that would likely grow. Often times, Nines and Gavin would end up getting drinks with Tina and Valerie. The two women were happily married.

Nines wasn’t upset about his friends’ marital status. In fact, he was more upset about his own relationship status. He was still happy with Gavin, there was no debating that. They had been together for almost a year and a half, living together for a little more than a year. But, they hadn’t discussed what the future of their relationship looked like.

Nines knew marriage was a human concept. But it was also something he wanted. Wants weren’t as foreign to him anymore, but when he knew he wanted something as strongly as he wanted this, it was hard to process. He wanted to be married to Gavin. He wanted their bond to be legal and binding. But first he had to discuss it with Gavin.

Gavin sighed as he walked into their apparent together. Ever since Nines moved in, the place had been cleaner. Gavin hung up his coat now, and left his shoes lined up by the front door. Nines watched as Gavin went to feed their cat. Gavin decided they shared the cat when Nines moved in. However, Gavin did most of the care of the cat.

“Hey, Gavin?” Nines spoke up.

“Yeah?” Gavin replied while he made sure the cat was cared for.

“Can we talk after supper tonight? About something specific, I mean.” Nines awkwardly fumbled out his request. Gavin immediately turned to look at Nines with a slightly worried expression.

“Did I fuck up somehow?”

“No.” Nines replied, confused.

“You sure? Cause whenever someone is going to end a relationship it usually starts with ‘Can we talk?’”

“No! I’m not looking to end our relationship.” Nines walked up to Gavin. “Not at all.” He emphasized his statement by kissing Gavin softly.

“Ok, Tin Can. And yeah, we can talk after supper. As long as I don’t have to worry about losing you.”

“Oh please.” Nines scoffed as he walked away from Gavin to go start dinner. “You think it will be that easy to get rid of me? I’m afraid you’re probably stuck with me, Gavin.”

Gavin shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I can definitely think of worse fates.”  
——  
After the boy ate and did dishes, Gavin scooped up his cat and dropped onto the couch. Nines did as well, but only with much more poise. Gavin kept absentmindedly stroking his cat’s fur along his back. Their cat was more than content to sit in Gavin’s lap enjoying the attention. “Ok, so what did you need to talk about?”

Nines occasionally still scanned Gavin, mostly to ensure that Gavin was healthy and ok. But he didn’t need his scanners right now. Gavin’s posture was stiff, unmoving. He was avoiding eye contact with Nines, focusing more on the cat he was holding. One might confuse the petting as an idle motion. But Nines knew it was almost an anxious tick, a need to occupy his hands. He kept a considerable space between the two of them. Gavin was very nervous to have this conversation. And that wouldn’t do.

Nines moved closer to Gavin and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He rubbed his hand up and down gently. “You can relax Gavin.” He urged. Gavin melted into Nines side.

“I just can’t figure out what you could want to talk about.”

“Well, this would be the first time we discussed it, so I don’t expect us to figure everything out tonight.”

Gavin sighed and shot Nines an annoyed look. “You’re not making me any less worried.”

“I was just wondering what the future of our relationship looks like.” Nines said.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Detective Miller and Officer Chen have found someone they love and decided to spend their lives together in a legal sense. They got married. I was just wondering if that was something that was likely to occur in our relationship.”

Gavin looked at Nines with a raised brow. “I hope this ain’t a proposal. Cause it was kinda shitty as one.”

“No, of course not. I wouldn’t ask you to marry me without first finding out your opinion on the subject. It’s a very important decision that we should discuss as a couple.”

Gavin smiled a bit, touched by Nines’ thoughtfulness. “Well, good. Cause I don’t see the point.”

“What do you mean?” Nines asked.

“I mean, we’re together right? Why do we need to get married to make it ‘official’ or some shit? We know that we’re a couple, the people in our lives know that we’re together. And we trust each other to stay faithful without a ring on our fingers. So do we need to have a ceremony or anything? Does that make our relationship more valid?”

“Of course it doesn’t make it more valid or real. We don’t even need to get married.”

“But you want to.” That was somewhere between an assumption and a question.

“I would like to take our relationship to the next logical step, yes. And, as you well know, I love you.”

“I thought you hated me.” Gavin teased with a smirk. Nines rolled his eyes with a smile. He pressed a soft kiss to Gavin’s forehead.

“But if you don’t want to, then I’m fine.” Nines continued. “I don’t want to push you into something you don’t want. However,” Nines grabbed Gavin’s left hand. “I would love to put a symbol of my commitment to you on this finger.” He lifted Gavin’s hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to his ring finger.

Gavin felt his face heat as his cheeks went pink. “Sap.” Gavin mumbled and pulled his hand from Nines’ grip. Then he leaned back against Nines’ side comfortably. Gavin reached up and grabbed Nines’ hand that was slung over his shoulder. He found himself absently toying with Nines’ fingers, most notably Nines’ ring finger. If Nines noticed, which he almost had to, he never mentioned it.  
——  
“I feel like I fucked up real bad, T.” Gavin groaned. Tina had hauled Gavin out for drinks when she noticed how quiet he had been for a few days. She had schemed with Connor so the RK800 would take his brother out for the evening. That gave Gavin time to complain to his friend without Nines there.

“What did you do this time?” Tina asked.

“I told Nines I don’t want to get married.”

“And you do? I’m not sure I’ve heard you talk about it one way or another.”

“I don’t know, T!” Gavin whined. “I’m so fucking bad at this relationship stuff. It’s just…” He trailed off uncertainly.

“Gavin, you’ve told me all sorts of shit. Just talk to me.”

He sighed. “It’s fucking terrifying, Tina.” He said. “I mean, I know I love Nines. And spending the rest of my life with him isn’t the scary part. That would be fucking perfect. But…what if Nines realizes he doesn’t want to be with me? I mean, marriage is a long term thing. It isn’t something to be taken lightly. How did you know you wanted to marry Valerie?”

Tina shrugged. “I just knew that I loved her and wanted to be with her. Besides, you and Nines have been through so much together. Gavin, for crying out loud, your voice brought him back out of what was basically a coma. He put up with you for a year before you realized how much he cared about you.”

“It took three months before he even liked me.” Gavin shot back. “But you’re right, Nines did put up with me for a long time. How much longer until he realizes I’m not worth it? Before or after he agrees to put up with me for the rest of my life?”

“Gavin, if he were going to leave you he would’ve already. You dished out the worst of your shit already. Now that you’re dating he sees a side of you that no one else gets to.” Tina reasoned. “I think you have nothing to worry about if you get married. Especially since Nines is the one who brought it up in the first place.”

“Well, you’re wrong T. I do have something to worry about. How the fuck do I fix it now?” Gavin complained.  
——  
Nines sat at the table with Conn or and Hank. Connor had asked Nines to come over for dinner as they hadn’t spent a lot of time together lately. It was true. Connor and Hank had been in New York for weeks training the android crime department there. And once they returned, Nines was in a relationship. Connor was thrilled for him. Hank wasn’t sure why Nines would want to date someone like Gavin, but had to admit that since the two of them got together Gavin had been more pleasant.

The RK units had found less time to spend together since. Nines did enjoy spending time with Connor. And Hank had welcomed him very similarly to Connor. Due to Nines’ stoic attitude, it took Hank a little bit longer to warm up to Nines. However, he was never rude or standoffish to Nines. Most people had initially avoided him, but not the Anderson duo. It gave Nines something similar to a family.

And Connor had noticed that Nines had been more quiet than usual most of the night. So he mentioned the silence. Nines gave him a small smile. “Sorry. I’m more focused on a conversation Gavin and I had.”

“Oh? What’d Gavin do this time?” Hank asked.

“Nothing particularly wrong. He had the right to say what he did.” Nines sighed and looked down at the table. “We talked about getting married.”

Hank’s eyes widened in shock. He probably would’ve said something, probably the first thing that came into his mind once it started working properly again. Probably questioning Nines’ choice. But Connor shot him a silent and gentle, warning look. Connor couldn’t quite understand what Nines saw in Gavin either, but he made Nines happy.

“What did Gavin say?” Connor asked.

Nines looked up at his predecessor. “Just that it isn’t something he wants. And I don’t wish to push him into that. I also don’t need to pursue a marriage with Gavin. We are together, it just seemed like a logical next step. But if it’s something Gavin doesn’t want, then I suppose it’s something we just won’t have.”

“Nines.” Hank spoke up to get the android’s attention. “If you’re focusing on it this much, it seems like marrying Gavin is something you really want. Don’t fucking know why.” Hank muttered at the end. Both androids smirked slightly at that. “Maybe it isn’t something you should give up too easily.”

“Perhaps. I just don’t want Gavin to feel pressured.” Nines said.

“Gavin seems to truly value his relationship with you.” Connor said. “I think he’ll reconsider it if you make it obvious that it’s something you really want.”  
——  
Connor was roughly pulled into the hallway of the holding cells the next day at work. Tina stood looking at him expectantly. “Did Nines tell you about the conversation he and Gavin had recently?” She asked.

“Yes. They talked about marriage. Nines says that Gavin wasn’t open to the idea.”

Tina waved a hand dismissively. “He’s just scared of commitment on that scale. He isn’t exactly against it, he just doesn’t know how he feels about it. Whether he is scared of it or not. He loves Nines and would actually really like to be married to him, I think.”

“That’s great!” Connor said. “I have to tell Nines.”

“No!” Tina said quickly. “If Nines knows that now, he might propose. Gavin would get spooked again. That’s the last thing those two need. They have to figure this out on their own. But maybe a slight push is ok.”

A bit later, Gavin was summoned into the break room by Tina. “So, I thought about it. I think you should plan a super nice dinner to apologize for the way the conversation went. It would show Nines that you have some regrets about what you said.”

Gavin nodded. “Ok but now I have to plan a fucking romantic dinner. Nines plans a lot of the dates we do. He’s just better at planning, loves doing that. He gives himself little missions to accomplish during those dates.”

“Well now it’s your turn. It doesn’t have to be spectacular, you know that. Nines will love it regardless of what you do. He’ll think it’s sweet.”

“I don’t do sweet.” Gavin grumbled before taking a drink of coffee.

“You do for Nines.” Tina accused. Gavin glared at her over his coffee cup. But his cheeks were bright pink.

A few hours later, Gavin walked across the police station to a set of desks he rarely walked up to. “Connor, I could use a hand.” He asked. The android in question shot him a puzzled look. “I need you to keep Nines busy for a few hours after work tomorrow.” Connor raised an eyebrow, still confused why he was being requested. Hank was giving Gavin a similar look. “I’m trying to plan a surprise dinner for him, ok?” Gavin muttered uncomfortably. “I wanna apologize for upsetting him the other night.”

Hank gave Gavin a surprised look. “I’m impressed. Nines was kinda off after that conversation of your’s. I didn’t think you’d want to apologize.”

“Look, I don’t regret telling him my honest opinion on the matter.” Connor’s LED circled yellow at the statement. After all, he knew Gavin hadn’t been completely honest that night, just confused. “I have a right to voice what I am comfortable with in a relationship. But I do regret upsetting him.”

“Tomorrow I’ll ask him to help me review evidence on a case. He’ll stay late. But you’ll have to have an excuse to not stay and wait for him.” Connor said.

Gavin nodded. “Thanks Connor.” The android and the lieutenant both looked shocked at his thanks.

“Of course, Gavin.”  
——  
At some point the next day, Connor walked up to Nines’ desk. “Nines, could you stay a bit later tonight? I need you to review some evidence with me.”

“Sure, Connor. That won’t be a problem.” Nines responded with a small smile.

Gavin watched Connor walk off. “You’re staying late then?”

“Yes, I don’t imagine it will take too long. Will you stay and wait so I can ride home with you?” Nines asked.

Gavin shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I was kinda hoping to get back home early today. I noticed the cat acting kinda sluggish this morning. I want to check on her sooner rather than later.”

“Oh.” Nines said. “Of course, you can head home as soon as you’re off. I’ll get a taxi home.”

“Sorry.” Gavin mumbled. “I would otherwise.”

“I know.” Nines responded with a calming smile.

So when their shift ended, Gavin left. First he gave Nines a quick kiss. Then he was gone. He had to stop and get some special food that androids could ingest. It was a new addition to androids. Like in humans, the food could be turned into a source of power. Nines had the ability to eat, but rarely did. But if Gavin made a nice dinner for the two of them, he would eat.

Gavin fumbled through starting dinner, but managed fairly well. He didn’t have a fancy table cloth, but Nines had purchased a bunch of candles shortly after moving in. He was basically addicted to them. Gavin didn’t mind. He liked seeing Nines outwardly enjoy something materialistic. Nines like the ambiance of candle light and said he could detect the odors of the candles and enjoyed it.

Gavin had to search around for a nice candle for the table. He found one with a lighter scent, something floral. He placed it in the center of the table and lit it. All the while, the food was slowly cooking in the oven. The two of them kept some thirium-based alcohol in the fridge just because. So Gavin set out a drink for him and a drink for Nines.

He got a text from Connor, Nines had left the station. Gavin check the food in the oven and figured it would be ready just as Nines would be getting back. Gavin made sure to fill his cat’s food dish so they wouldn’t be interrupted with starved yowls during supper.

Gavin was moving the food to the table as Nines was opening the front door. “Gavin?” He called out.

“In the kitchen!” He called back. Gavin set the food down and threw the potholders he was using back onto the counter. He faced the door as Nines came in and then paused as he took in the scene. Table set, candle in the center, lights dimmed, drinks out. He looked back to Gavin in confusion.

“I didn’t miss an important day in our relationship, did I?” Nines asked.

“No. I just wanted to make you dinner to apologize. Let’s sit.” So the two did. Nines safely assumed that he could eat what Gavin prepared so he dished some up. “Look, we talked about our future the other day. And I upset you.”

“Gavin, I was asking your opinion on the matter. I wanted you to be honest.”

“I get that. But I’m not sure if I was being honest. I wasn’t intentionally lying though. Look, I don’t know how the fuck I feel about getting married. It’s a huge deal, Nines. It’s a huge and scary commitment. No one has ever wanted that kind of commitment to me. Most people just decide I’m not worth it. I guess I’m worried that I’ll get my hopes up, and something will push you away from me.”

“I’ve told you countless times Gavin, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know that. I just have a shit ton of abandonment issues to work through. It’s nothing wrong with you, I’m the fucked up one. You knew what you were getting yourself into.” Gavin warned.

“I’m well aware, Gavin. I haven’t yet regretted my decision.”

Gavin smiled a bit. “You’re such a sap.” Gavin muttered.

“And you love it.” Nines shot back. Nines paused for a bit. “Look, I won’t bring up marriage again. You can bring it up when your comfortable, if you are ever comfortable.”

“Thanks, Nines.”  
——  
Tina and Connor knew that while Gavin and Nines were a great couple, they were hopeless at times. Tina knew that if she worked with Connor a little bit, she could help Gavin out. When she saw Connor walk to the break room one day, she followed. “Hey Robo-Cop.” She greeted pleasantly.

“Isn’t that how you address my brother?” Connor asked.

“Nines is Terminator. You’re Robo-Cop.” Tina corrected. “I was wondering, did Nines ever talk more about the whole marrying Gavin thing?”

“Not really. It was just that one night that we discussed it.”

“Ok.” She paused thoughtfully. “Can you talk to him about it some more?”

“I suppose I could. He doesn’t really enjoy talking about it that much though, especially after Gavin’s reaction. What are you hoping to gain?”

“Anything useful really. Gavin is going to need all the help he can get to fix this.”

“So you would like me to talk to my brother and report back to you?” Connor asked accusingly.

“Only to help surprise him!” Tina remedied quickly. “I’m not asking you to divulge a bunch of personal information. Just small things.”

Connor thought about it. It was true that Gavin would benefit from some help. From Connor’s understanding, Tina helped Gavin officially confess his feelings. Although Nines was in a forced safe mode at the time, but Gavin still opened up. And Nines had heard him. “Ok, I’ll see what information I can get.”

“Thank you so much Robo-Cop! You’re the greatest.” A couple of weeks later, Tina was at home when her phone pinged. It was a message from Connor. A picture and a message with only two words. Tina smiled as she realized exactly what it was.

A black ring made of tungsten. Closer to one side of the ring rather than in the center, a thin band of blue that encircled the ring. The message was a ring size. The perfect ring for Nines.

It was only a few days later that Tina hauled Gavin to a jewelry store. “I’m not sure about this, T.”

“Look, you wanna marry him right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Well if you have a ring, then you can pop the question whenever you want. I’m not saying you have to get down on one knee as soon as you have the ring. But then you have it, so you can ask whenever you want. It’s like a security blanket.”

“Well, how am I gonna know what Nines would want?”

“You’re dating him, dipshit. You should know. Plus, I’m here to help with that. Offer my opinion.” Tina told him. So they looked through a variety of jewelry cases, brushing off workers who were constantly asking if they needed help. Tina knew the ring Nines liked was here, but she had to find it without being too obvious. She wanted to think it was Gavin’s decision after all.

Finally, Tina found one of the cases with the ring in it. She stayed in front of it, looking inside until Gavin walked over. “Find anything?” Tina shrugged noncommittally. Gavin peered in, and Tina smiled to herself as Gavin leaned in closer to the case to look at something. “What about that one?” Gavin asked. “Simple, dark like 75% of his wardrobe, but that blue is a perfect accent.”

Tina looked at it. “I think you found the perfect ring, Gavin.” Gavin couldn’t agree more.  
——  
Gavin begged Tina to hold onto the ring. He claimed he had no where to keep it where Nines wouldn’t be able to find it. Tina had to agree. So she kept it at her house. Gavin now just had to figure out the best way to ask Nines. He had more than a few half-baked ideas that he knew would never work.

But he thought he’d figure it out eventually. He just wished he had thought about it a bit more. The pair had closed a particularly bad case a few days prior. So Nines planned a perfect evening for them. Gavin had gone to see Tina while Nines prepared for the evening. Dinner and a movie that Gavin had been wanting to watch. Simple but more than enough for the two of them.

Gavin walked in, and similar to Nines reaction to the apology dinner, froze and looked around. “I didn’t fuck up did I?” He asked a similar question from a while ago.

“Quite the opposite.” Nines said, coming up to Gavin. “We closed a case that we both worked tirelessly on. We both deserve a night to relax after that.” Nines pulled Gavin in for a deep kiss.

Gavin smiled as Nines pulled away. “Do I get an award like that after closing every case?”

“You can have that ‘reward’ whenever you ask for it.” Nines shot back. Instead of asking though, Gavin grabbed Nines’ jacket lapels and pulled him in for another kiss. Nines pulled back after a moment, mostly for Gavin’s necessity to breathe. “Let’s eat.”

At some point, Gavin made an offhanded joke. He was used to not hearing Nines laugh at his jokes, Nines would smile politely but never really laugh. So when he heard a sound like a chuckle rumble through Nines’ vocal processor he stared at Nines in shock. “Did you just laugh at my joke?”

Nines shrugged. “Perhaps I did. You’re becoming an influence on me.” Nines quipped. “I’m not sure if it’s good or bad.” He smirked.

Gavin stared, a small smile tugging at his lips. Nines laughed at his joke. It made him feel warm inside. Then, suddenly and without prep, “Will you marry me?”

Now it was Nines turn to stare in shock. His LED was spinning, a golden hue. “What?”

“Will you marry me?”

“I…I thought you didn’t want to get married?” Nines said. In any other situation Gavin would’ve felt pride at making Nines stutter.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted. But damn Nines, I want you. I want you in every way.” He stood from his seat and started approaching Nines. “I want to go out with you and only you. I want to hold your hand and feel a ring there and know I put it there. I want to wear a ring on my finger and know that everyone who sees it knows that I am taken. And most people know I am taken by the best person I could ever meet.” He finished by pushing Nines chair away from the table and setting himself down on Nines’ lap, legs on either side of his boyfriend. Hopefully soon his fiancé.

Nines instinctively brought his hands up to settle on Gavin’s hips, steadying him there. “You called me a person.” Nines said in shock.

“Huh?”

Nines kissed him soundly before answering, “You called me a person, Gavin. Not an android, not your partner, not your friend. A person.”

“I’ve called you a person before. A whole person actually.”

“But now I’m the best person?”

“That I could ever meet.” Gavin finished with a soft kiss. “You never answered my question.” Nines tilted his head, already forgetting the question. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh!” Nines said, LED blinking in surprise. He smiled widely. “Of course!” He kissed Gavin once more before pulling back. “I believe you criticized me for having a ‘shitty proposal.’ But your’s wasn’t exactly stellar.”

“Oh shut the fuck up. You said yes.”

“I don’t think I would’ve said anything else.”  
——  
Nines started wearing the ring almost immediately, like an engagement ring. He got a ring for Gavin as well. Gavin wore it around his neck on a chain until they officially got married. The two went out for drinks with their friends to celebrate.

Nines found Gavin was often staring at him, more specifically at his hand. Nines’ was what humans would refer to as left-handed, so he often used the hand that the ring was on. He couldn’t quite figure out why Gavin was so transfixed.

Once back at the apartment he asked, “Why were you staring at my hand so much?”

Gavin looked at Nines, shrugged, and grabbed Nines’ hand and toyed with the ring. “You were right. It’s great to have a symbol of my commitment to you on your finger.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story, and others, is posted on my Tumblr @miscellaneous--musings


End file.
